Class of 1951 Fall Letter

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By Bob Rosholt

November 15, 2012

Fall 2012

Dear Classmates, Schoolmates, and Friends,

Luther’s October 2012 Homecoming was very low-key compared to a year ago, when Luther celebrated its 150th anniversary, and our class celebrated its 60th. Nevertheless, the work of class agents goes on. We meet together on Homecoming Friday for lunch and a briefing session in the attractive Peace Dining Room, on the windowed top floor of the student union.

This year three things caught my attention: the wind turbine to the west of campus; the beautiful fall landscape across the valley; and the upbeat feeling that Luther is ready to move forward and consolidate the achievements of the previous decade. The last major facility, the aquatic center, is under construction, and the human elements are in place for continuing Luther’s strong performance as a top-notch liberal arts college.

The Class of ’51 is part of this success story. The data on our level of participation and contributions is good. I hope you will continue your good work. It makes me proud to be your class agent!

As you know, Luther has a very strong music program. Even though the music building has quite a few practice rooms, many more are needed. The new approach is to decentralize some practice rooms by locating a dozen new, modular ones in the residence halls, with new pianos as well. Two of these practice rooms were funded by members of the Class of 1951: Luther and IvaNell (Mundt) Monson and Robert and Lucille (Stansberry) Rosholt. (They were recognized during the homecoming concert on Sunday, Oct. 7.)

Speaking of music, in my last letter I wondered if any of you were still “doing music.” I found out that Marilyn (Myrah) Bunge was just honored for her 50 years of playing the organ in the Lutheran church in Preston, Minn. Shirley (Peterson) Swenson plays the clarinet in a community concert band in Bella Vista, Ark. George Trytten was singing in the choir at First Lutheran here in Decorah, before he left to live in Idaho a year ago. Anyone else?

The Luther Alumni Magazine is published three times each school year. The fall issue is No. 1, the winter issue is No. 2, and the spring issue is No. 3. Those 3 issues constitute a volume, e.g., 46, for the current school year. Ordinarily you would receive the fall issue around homecoming, so you should have issue 1 of volume 46 by now.

On page 62 there is a brief notice of the death of our schoolmate Linda (Rost) Trehus. Her husband, Merlin Trehus, was a Class of ’50 grad. They were into horses, not too common for LC graduates. On page 42 we note that Beth (Lien) Waterfall is still studying (Northern Renaissance art at Dartmouth College). Another item I heard about is that Bob Boyd has had the honor of serving as the grand marshal for Nebraska’s official Veteran’s Day celebration, as well as being a featured speaker. (He always was good with words.)

In regard to future obituaries, please note the item on p. 61 of the recent Luther magazine. Full obituaries will no longer be printed in the magazine. They can be found online at www.luthermagazine.com. I tried it and even I was able to pull it off, the search, that is.

On page 35 of the magazine is a story on Decorah’s recently completed 11-mile trail that encircles the city. Lucy and I, using the map on page 39, took advantage of some great fall weather to walk its entire length. (We did it in stages—Lucy’s two bionic knees had to be taken into consideration.) The section between mile #5 and mile #10 has some challenging grades, as you can tell by the many switchbacks. We met many bicyclists and none of them were having to walk their bikes, however. Whenever we used the parking lots, we doubled the mileage by walking back to the car.

I guess 2013 will witness most of us celebrating our 84th birthdays. I hope I’ll be around to send you the class letter next spring. In the meantime, watch your step, grab the rails, and if you live up north as we do, avoid the ice!

Each year nearly 9,500 alumni, parents, and friends support the Annual Fund with gifts from $5 to $50,000. Strong support from alumni helps Luther secure additional funds from foundations and corporations, and your gift each year helps us to reach our goal of 27% alumni giving to the Annual Fund. Here’s how your class is doing so far this year:

CLASS OF 1951 TOTAL GIVING: $ 8,932.00 FROM 26% OF THE CLASS*

Have you made your 2012 gift to Luther? Only 2 more gifts are needed to reach 27% for your class. Please visit www.givenow.luther.edu to make a difference for Luther students. Thank you!

Please note: Your Spring 2013 class agent letter will include a listing of your classmates who gave to Luther during 2012. Be sure to make your gift before December 31 to be included.

*as of October 18, 2012

Obituaries
AGNES L. (HANSON) BENNETT of Turlock, Calif., died Oct. 5, 2011, at age 82. Following graduation from Luther, she earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of Michigan and worked at the University of Idaho in Moscow. In 1961 Agnes joined the staff at California State University-Stanislaus as head catalog librarian, retiring thirty years later, in 1991. An avid reader, she belonged to the Light of Christ Lutheran Church in Turlock. Agnes is survived by two children, Robert D. Bennett, Jr. and Signe Ericks, and three grandchildren. She was predeceased by a sister, two brothers, and her husband, Robert, in 2005.

DAVID A. STORVICK of Minneapolis died Nov. 5, 2011, at age 82. After graduation from Luther, he earned master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of Michigan. After serving two years at Iowa State University, David joined the University of Minnesota Department of Mathematics in 1957, as assistant professor. He spent the rest of his career there, being promoted to associate professor in 1961 and full professor in 1966. David enjoyed three sabbaticals, during which he visited the University of Wisconsin, Imperial College in London, and the University of York. Throughout his career, he published 39 papers in top-level research journals, many of them written with former colleague Robert Cameron. David was a recognized researcher in the fields of complex analysis and mathematical physics, and his research accomplishments led to many invitations to speak at conferences throughout the world, including England, Finland, Germany, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Scotland, Iceland, Canada, Korea, Japan, Madeira, and the People’s Republic of China. He was particularly active in service to the School of Mathematics and University of Minnesota, serving as associate head of the School of Mathematics from 1964-70 and as associate dean of the Institute of Technology (now called the College of Science and Engineering) from 1979-83, and again from 1993-94. He served as acting director of the Gray Fresh Water Biological Institute from 1989-90 and also served several terms in the faculty Senate and on University Senate committees. After many years of dedicated teaching, research, and service, David retired in 2004. He was a member of Nokomis Heights Lutheran Church, where he sang bass in the choir and had served on committees and as president of the congregation. David loved fishing and spending time with his family at their Crane Lake cabin. He enjoyed amateur athletics, travel, live theatre, and classical music. David received the Distinguished Service Award from Luther in 1976. He is survived by his wife, SYLVIA (WINESS) STORVICK ‘52; three children, KRISTIN STORVICK ‘76, JONATHAN STORVICK ’78, and SARAH (STORVICK) KUNAU ‘85; six grandchildren, including PETER STORVICK ’14; a brother, OLIN STORVICK ‘49; and sisters, ROSALIE (STORVICK) MILLER ’53 and Sonja Hagestuen. He was predeceased by his father, ROY STORVICK ’21. Memorials may be directed to Luther College.

JOHN OLNEY YLVISAKER of Zumbrota, Minn., died Jan. 1, 2012, at age 86. His father, JOHAN FRITJOF YLVISAKER ’16, was a missionary in South Africa, where John was born. John's mother died when he was very young, and John and his father returned to the U.S. to live in Zumbrota when John was 13 years old. After graduation from high school, John enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific Theatre of Operations during World War II. After his honorable discharge, he enrolled at Luther. John taught chemistry and physics in Elbow Lake and in Princeton, Minn., for a few years before joining the faculty in Zumbrota in 1957. He earned a master’s degree in chemistry from Montana State University in Bozeman in 1964. John retired from teaching in 1988; he was active in his community, belonging to the 65-50 Club, Lions Club, and American Legion Post, and he was a scoutmaster for eleven years. A member of United Redeemer Lutheran Church, John enjoyed camping, canoeing, tinkering and doing repairs around the house, feeding the birds, and spending time with his grandchildren. He especially enjoyed being part of the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. John and his wife, Muriel “Dolly,” wintered for many years in the southern states. He is survived by his wife, Dolly; children: Kent Ylvisaker, Eric Ylvisaker, JEAN (YLVISAKER) OHMAN ’80, and Rolf Ylvisaker; six grandchildren, including ANYA SMITH ’06; two great-great granddaughters; and a sister, RUTH YLVISAKER ’48. John was predeceased by a son, Jon; sisters, Rebecca Ylvisaker and HELOISE (YLVISAKER) BLANCHAR ’49; his father, JOHAN FRITJOF YLVISAKER ’16, and his grandfather, ANDREAS CHRISTIAN YLVISAKER (LC 1881).

LINDA (ROST) TREHUS of Keller, Texas, died Jan. 20, 2012, at age 81. She was born Feb. 11, 1930, in Chicago, to Ernst and Sofie Rost. Linda is survived by her husband, MERLIN TREHUS ‘50; three children, Paul, Ellen and Wendy; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.